“Once again, we see the tragic consequences of negligent gun storage,” said Beth Joslin Roth, policy director for the Safe Tennessee Project. “These shootings are not accidents.They are the direct result of an adult’s choice not to properly secure their firearm.This continues to be a serious issue in our state. Yet for two years now, our legislature’s solution to the problem is to do absolutely nothing.”

None of those seven states have laws requiring the safe storage of guns.

Tennessee’s problem with these types of shootings is not getting better and is on pace to exceed the numbers from last year.According to the database maintained by the Children’s Firearm Safety Alliance, an organization founded by Roth and Missouri state Senator Representative Stacey Newman, Tennessee currently leads the nation in shootings involving children with access to negligently stored firearms.

Of all the cities in the country, Memphis ranks first.

In Tennessee, there have been almost as many total incidents so far in 2017 as there were in all of 2016. There have been eight fatalities in 2017. There were seven in 2016.

“It is vital that parents talk to their children about gun safety, but that is not enough. Not even close,” Roth explained. “The single most important job any gun owner has is to keep their gun out of the hands of the wrong people, including and especially children. Safe storage saves lives. It would have saved the life of the 4-year-old in Memphis yesterday.”

TENNESSEE CHILDREN INJURED AND KILLED AS A RESULT OF NEGLIGENTLY STORED FIREARMS IN 2017 BY THE NUMBERS

As of 8/20/2017 20 incidents 12 injuries 8 fatalities

As of 8/20/2016 16 incidents 12 injuries 4 fatalities

Year end 2016 22 incidents 16 injuries 7 fatalities

Year end 2015 21 incidents 12 injuries 9 fatalities

According to the CFSA, Tennessee currently leads the nation in the number of these incidents

Tennessee 20 Florida 17 Texas 15 South Carolina 13

Memphis leads not only Tennessee, but the nation in the number of these incidents:

Memphis 9 St. Louis 6 Nashville 5 Jacksonville 5

Of the nine incidents in Memphis this year, seven occurred just this summer since June 21.Two occurred over the last weekend.

Of the twenty incidents in Tennessee this year, at least twelve involved children under the age of 13, seven were toddlers or preschoolers.

Of the twenty incidents in Tennessee this year, six involved children shooting a sibling, cousin, or other relative.Eleven of the children shot themselves.In two incidents, the circumstances wereunclear.

The Senate Judiciary voted against MaKeyla’s Law on March 22, 2017. There have been sixteen incidents involving children shooting themselves or someone else with a negligently stored firearms since the bill failed.

February 20, 2017 – Memphis – INJURY
A 4-year-old was unintentionally shot by his brother. The brother was playing with the gun and dropped it, causing it to discharge. The children’s grandmother claims she fired a gun to intimidate people she said had shot into her home. She said she put the gun “back into the box but forgot to lock it.”http://www.fox13memphis.com/news/4-year-old-child-shot-in-north-memphis/495654841